CALGARY – The Calgary Dinos women's soccer team open their Canada West campaign with a staggering 10-0 win over the Winnipeg Wesmen in front of a passionate crowd at Dinosaur field.

A total of seven different Dinos players found the back of the net in this one, while nine of their 10 goals were assisted on in a dominating season opener.

Things were instantly off to a positive start for Calgary when the first goal was scored just four minutes in by Grace Moore after an assist by Layla Tarraf. Just 14 minutes later, captain Rachel Barlow followed Moore's lead and found the back of the net after an assist by first-year rookie Isabella Burtini. Fueled by their early goal, Calgary would go on to take 22 shots and six corners in the first half. By the time halftime was called, the Dinos were at 6-0 against the Wesmen, as Isabella DiPalma and Tarraf also got in the score column.

"We were all really excited for the home opener, and we just wanted to do really well and come out with a bang," Barlow said. "We started training at the beginning of August and have been going on pretty much every day since then." 

Calgary's training was certainly evident in today's game; where defense was well-executed, offense was sharp, and tackles were efficient.

The second half saw much of the same as the first for Calgary. Just five minutes in, Rowyn James tapped in a pass by Moore for her first collegiate goal, making it 7-0 for the Dinos. Following James' momentum, Ella Djuranic returned from injury and scored her first goal of the season with an assist by Danica Pullishy just a mere one minute later at 51:44 to make it 8-0. James would go on to add another, while Paige Cates slotted home a penalty kick to close out the scoring on the day.

"It's important to have multiple goal scores on the team – it takes the pressure off just one person so that everyone can score," Barlow said. "We exploited the back corners [of the Wesmen], especially the wide channels, which was their weakness. We did a good job driving to the bylines and getting lots of cutbacks."

Barlow led the way in scoring for the Dinos on the day with two goals and two assists. Tarraf and Moore each had three points, while Burtini and James notched two points in their rookie debuts. 

This marks the first time the Dinos have scored 10-plus goals in a game since doing so twice during the 2016 campaign.

With the result, Calgary now moves to 1-0-0 on the young season, while Winnipeg falls to 0-1-0. The Dinos will wrap up their opening weekend at home Sunday with another 12 p.m. contest against Manitoba, who dropped a 4-3 barn burner at Lethbridge on Saturday.

-UC-